Conwy's Surf Snowdonia closes as redundancies announced

Adventure Parc Snowdonia announced it was closing with immediate effect

The world's first inland surf lagoon has closed down after warnings last year the north Wales business may have to sell up.

Adventure Parc Snowdonia said it was "bitterly disappointed" in an announcement online.

Tourism North Wales boss, Jim Jones, previously said the business's closure would be bad for the area.

Adventure Parc Snowdonia opened in 2015 with £4m of Welsh government funding.

After a series of setbacks the company, in Dolgarrog, Conwy county, was looking for investment that could lead to the site being sold.

In spring 2021, the attraction reopened with a new 106-bedroom Hilton Garden Inn and an indoor adventure activity centre after a further £3.9m Welsh government funding.

But it said in a Facebook post on Friday: "It's with a heavy heart that we announce the immediate closure of our Parc. To all who've been part of this journey, we're truly sorry.

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"We are bitterly disappointed that once again excellent employees are being made redundant.

"The sad reality is that despite the joy and adventure our waves brought to many as a world-first innovation, the machine has cost us a fortune in downtime, repairs and loss of business."

A "mechanical failure" in August last year led to it being announced the waves at the surf lagoon would be switched off for the rest of 2022.

The business said it had lost its reputation with staff it had worked with since it opened in 2015.

Tourism North Wales boss, Jim Jones, previously said the business's closure would be bad for the area

"We'll be exploring options for an exciting new chapter from 2024 and beyond," it added, saying refunds were available for affected customers.

The other sites attractions, including the Hilton hotel, are understood to remain open.

An Adventure Parc Snowdonia spokesman said: "This summer season has been hampered by the ongoing issues with the wave machine, and the revenues being significantly lower than we would expect.

"The end of the summer season approaches and redundancies will have to be made to both seasonal and some full-time team members.

"Over the coming months we will review what we do with the Parc before the 2024 season starts."